Smile
by Lea Woods
Summary: A mysterious note appears, making Percy question nearly everything. Ultimately though, the answer to his questions is staring him in the face, and he can't help but take a second look...


Title: Smile

Author: Lea Woods

Pairing: Percy Weasley/ Oliver Wood

Fandom: Harry Potter

Theme: #2 – News; Letter

Rating: PG

Spoilers: N/A

Disclaimer: The characters contained herein aren't mine, though the premise of the piece is. It is in no way intended for monetary gain, on entertainment purposes. Characters and Hogwarts are copyright J.K. Rowling and her respective publishers.

Warnings: Slashy fluff or fluffy slash, depending on how you look at it. Innuendo you wouldn't notice unless you were looking for it (and shame on you if you are!)

Summary:

Author's Notes: Intended as a sequel to, "Starry, Starry Night," though it can stand on its own.

---

He'd been sitting there waiting for a change for hours, but none came. Snow continued to fall softly outside the window, students continued speaking quietly (presumably studying), and he still sat in a window well (inside and blissfully warm this time), poking at the letter he had received in the post that morning.

The handwriting was neat and legible with a small flourish here and there that led him to believe the author had spent more than a little time on the contents. He read it again and again, shook his head in disbelief. Who would believe that Prissy Percy the Prefect had (dare he say it)an..._admirer_?

He stared absently at the snow swirling outside, mind still reeling. Who in their right minds would even consider writing to him? He was tall and gangly. He had red hair, freckles, glasses…he was a bookworm for Merlin's sake!

There was a little bit of a commotion at the library doors that drew his eyes. A group of lower year girls was crowding inside, giggling and being summarily scolded by Madam Pince. Percy chuckled a little and shook his head, He knew that within seconds, his roommate would reveal himself, slipping out of the shadows slightly out of breath and more than a little wary.

Percy leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest and waiting. As though on cue, twenty-six seconds later (yes, he counted) Oliver slinked out of the shadows and collapsed into the chair across from Percy with a sigh.

"Are they gone yet?" he asked breathlessly.

Percy grinned. "You know better than that, Oliver. They don't give up that easily."

"So…?"

"Five minutes and counting," Percy replied evenly. They shared a smile. "While we're waiting, have a look at this." He pushed the paper across the table.

"What is it?" Oliver wanted to know, even as he picked it up and scrunched his face up to focus his eyes.

"A letter I got this morning," Percy replied evenly, studying Oliver's face as he read the note. "What do you make of it?"

Oliver blinked a few times before responding. "I don't really know what to say," he responded quietly. "It's not exactly…elaborate, is it?"

"No," Percy replied wryly. "Not at all. In fact, it's deceptively simple."

"Deceptively?"

"You have to read between the lines, Oliver. There are subtleties."

"There are only two lines, Percy."

"Subtleties," Percy repeated with a characteristically quiet smile. His gaze drifted out the window once more and he sighed a little. "Snow, and it's barely October."

"It will make Quidditch interesting."

"Won't it just?" He heaved a real sigh this time and glanced down into the gallery floor of the library. "Your little troupe is gone now. I believe it's safe to emerge."

"I should have known," Oliver replied without thinking. "There's no escape from them anymore."

"Between you and Potter, I can see why," Percy drawled as he sat forward to work on an essay. "Rumor has it that this year's Quidditch Cup is in the bag."

"They've said that for two years now," Oliver reminded him.

"And wouldn't it be nice if for once they were right?"

Oliver bit his lip. He wanted to win (almost) more than anything. There were a few things that came in at a very close second, but he wasn't about to voice that thought to Percy.

Come to think of it, what the hell did he mean by, "reading between the lines"? What was this new power he had gained, that he could discern the intention of an author's words, though not directly stated, by mere observation. Strange…He thought perhaps they called it, "intuition", though there was a decidedly female connotation connected with it…

…Hell, he didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think about how much effort it had taken to find an owl he knew Percy wouldn't recognize and strap a note to its leg at four o'clock in the morning. That had only been half the fun. The other half had been sneaking in and out of their room in an effort not to wake his roommate. That was the hard part. That was the challenge. That, he thought with a slightly smug grin, had been the bigger part of the fun involved in the entire effort.

He sat back in his chair and studied his friend. "You know it's past time for dinner.."

"Is it?" Percy asked absently.

"Stop and think Percy, you know you're hungry."

The quill paused mid-word and after a moment, Percy nodded. "Let me get my things together."

"We'll have to go down to the kitchens."

Percy shrugged. "I'm more likely to get something I like if I get it directly from the elves." Thrusting a book in his bag, he stood and started to move away.

"Hey," Oliver called. Percy stopped and turned. The Scot pointed at the piece of parchment still lying on the table. "Aren't you interested in holding on to this?" he asked.

"Grab it for me, will you?"

Oliver picked up the paper and looked at it.

_You should smile more._

_You have a nice smile._

He shook his head and folded the note carefully before shoving it in his pocket.

As he followed Percy down the back stairway, he ran into a couple giggling and kissing in a slightly less remote portion of the stacks. They seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. "Don't you two ever get tired?" he asked as they shot him dirty looks. He thought a moment then shook his head. "Please, forget I asked."

Then he hurried down the stairs and out of the library as quickly as possible. His fan club, it seemed, were tucked snugly in their respective beds, so they were safe wandering the halls to the kitchen.

They were halfway back up to the tower, nibbling at cherry turnovers, when something suddenly occurred to Oliver. "Hey, let's go out onto the landing for a second, okay?"

Percy, looking puzzled, agreed. "All right…" he murmured, slipping through the door Oliver held open for him. "Oliver, what is it?"

Oliver reached into a pocket and drew something out, holding it to Percy. "I found these and thought you could…you know, use them. Especially as it's snowing."

"How perceptive of you, my dear Watson," Percy chuckled, accepting the package with a grin. "What is this, anyway?" He held them up, looking at the closely. For a second the smile faded, then he looked up and met Oliver's gaze, eyes shining. "Gloves," he said quietly. He smiled again, and this time it started in his eyes. "Thank you!"

Oliver blushed, though thankfully it was hard to see in the poor light of the stars. "You're welcome," he replied easily. "it was nothing, really."

"Uh-huh," Percy grinned, putting the gloves on. "these are perfect, Oliver, thank you so much."

Such effusive praise from Percy was odd. No, scratch that. It wasn't odd, it was just plain _bizarre_.

"Are you feeling okay?"

Percy nodded, flexing his fingers experimentally. "More than fine. I just…I can't believe you remembered. Thank you so much."

Oliver shrugged. "I'm not the dumb, insensitive jock all the time, you know."

"I know," Percy replied, smiling up at his roommate.

Oliver's gaze was serious. "You know," he murmured without thinking. "You really should smile more."

"You keep doing things like this," he shot back. "And I may have to."

It was only later, as he was putting this things away at his desk that a thought came to Percy. He stopped mid-stride and considered. There was little sound in the tower room. Snow had an amazing muting quality, he mused. The only other thing he heard was soft breathing from the direction of his roommate's bed. Percy turned a little and watched him as he slept.

"_You really should smile more," _echoed in his mind.

He looked at Oliver a moment longer, his gaze lingering on the contours of his face. Then he smiled.

-Fine-


End file.
